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'Impossible' font inspired by optical illusion

Frustro is a typeface based on the Penrose triangle, an Escher-esqe "impossible object" that can't be fabricated by any earthly means.

Gestalten Fonts Foundry

When a design student uploads a project to a portfolio website, they're typically hoping for feedback or maybe the odd freelance job. In the case of Martzi Hegedűs, a simple typographic experiment uploaded to Behance turned into a published typeface called Frustro.

Hegedűs was studying at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts in Budapest when he started playing around with letterforms based on the Penrose triangle, an Escher-esqe "impossible object" that can't be fabricated by any earthly means, but makes for a stunning TrueType font. "At first I had no intention to make it as a font, but it became quite popular over the internet, so I decided to take up the challenge and do it," says Hegedűs.

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Drawing individual letterforms was easy enough, but creating a system that could be used in a professional context was more difficult. Presented in the traditional Roman format, the font lost a lot of its kinetic appeal and an italic slant created confusion with the angled elements of letterforms like the "N." Ultimately, Hegedűs decided to reverse the direction of the italic which gave words set in the font an element of dynamism without interfering with any character's personality. "There were only a few characters I had troubles with, especially the ones with diagonal lines, like the inequality signs and the square root symbol," says Hegedűs. "I can't pick a favorite, but making the extra star-like symbols was quite amusing, and I guess the triple triangle thing is a bit more exciting than the 'L.'"

The rookie typographer received a lot of feedback online, but very little that ended up shaping the final design. "I received only laudatory comments which are very flattering, but unprofitable," he says. However, when type foundry Gestalten reached out and offered to distribute it, the font went from gimmicky side project to true display typeface.

First, they asked Hegedűs to work through the entire character library. "I managed to create all the diacritics and 'useless' symbols of the standard MacOS Roman character set," says Hegedűs. "I doubt anyone would use ordinal indicators or the section sign in real life, but they look cool." To spruce up the package, they also suggested he craft some ornaments -- the Penrose triangle was a given, which he followed with a stupifying infinity loop and a perplexing set of stars and hearts.

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Gestalten also gave the rookie designer some tips on commercialising the letterforms. First, they created a catchy naming system -- the outline version is called spaghetti, the block form is fusilli, cannelloni is in outline with filling, and tortelloni is a version that curves over like a shell. Using a pasta naming convention for a funky geometric font might seem odd, but aside from being fun, it highlights that each font stands alone or can be used as an ingredient. By layering the fonts, designers can create interesting color combinations and 3D effects.

After trying to bring an impossible object to life with his first font, Hegedűs has chosen a vanilla sans-serif in the vein of Verdana for his followup and is excited to see designers experimenting with his creation. "I haven't had an opportunity to use Frustro as a font yet," he says. "To be honest, I'd rather see what others can do with it."